Toronto buys Etobicoke site from ML Ready Mix Concrete; company to move to Port Lands

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Ontario Construction News staff writer

The City of Toronto has completed an Agreement of Purchase and Sale at 29 Judson St. in Etobicoke, and now owns the property currently occupied by ML Ready Mix Concrete.

In a Dec. 11 statement, the city confirmed the purchase, calling it, “the next step in the process of relocating ML Ready Mix from its current site in a residential area in south Etobicoke to its future location at 545 Commissioners St. in the Port Lands.

Under the terms of the agreement that was reached “after an extensive due diligence process,” ML Ready Mix has up to one year to move operations from 29 Judson St. to the Commissioners Street site.

It’s been about 18 months since council voted to buy and potentially relocate a controversial Mimico concrete plant — but the deal still isn’t finalized, vexing both residents and the plant’s owners.

That happened after more than a decade of complaints about truck traffic, excessive noise and messy conditions around the site. Council voted to use $5 million in city funds to buy the property in July 2018, with the goal of moving the operations to the Port Lands.

The city established a working group of various city divisions including Economic Development and Culture, City Planning and Toronto Building, along with CreateTO, Toronto Public Health, Metrolinx, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and local residents.

“The relocation of ML Ready Mix from 29 Judson St. to 545 Commissioners St. presents a strategic opportunity to further consolidate concrete batching operations in the Port Lands, while at the same time reducing land use conflicts currently experienced by the residents of the Judson Street community in south Etobicoke,” the city says in a statement.

The agreement includes a one-year leaseback with ML Ready Mix at 29 Judson St. to enable a smooth transition and relocation of operations.

“This is an important step forward for south Etobicoke,” Toronto Mayor John Tory said in the city’s statement.

“We’ve listened to residents’ concerns and worked together to address those concerns. I want to thank Councillor Mark Grimes and South Etobicoke residents for their patience and determination in seeing this through and for the hard work they put into this resolution that’s good for the community and our city.”

The current ML Ready Mix facility is near the Mimico GO Train station, and across from a park, a seniors’ residence and adjacent houses.

Company officials bought the property in 2002 and initially operated a lumber yard.

Local residents started complaining in 2007, when the concrete facility began operating.

Councillor Grimes originally presented a motion to council in 2012, to prohibit concrete batching and other heavy industrial uses in a large section of south Etobicoke.

“I am grateful to city staff and the members of the working group who all worked tirelessly to make this relocation happen,” Grimes said last Wednesday.

“I also want to thank ML Ready Mix for their cooperation in recognizing their operation was not compatible with the local community, and for coming to the table to get this done.”

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